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Thursday, September 15, 2016

Tis the Season!

Waving a hearty welcome to you, lovely crafting friends!

Hoping you and your special loved ones are doing well.
Alas, this is my final post for the DRU team - I'm sad to leave my very talented teamies,but...looking forward to sharing wonderful news with you next month!(It is always difficult to sit on a secret for several months, don'tcha think?)

The glittery full moon has a piece of sticker paper behind (hand cut after adhering it).
The glitter is sparkly in person, but on camera, Velvet (Microfine) glitter is more like a velvety with only a little glitter showing.

TIP:

The larger the glitter grain size, the more area for the light to reflect the sparkle.
The smaller the glitter, the more "movement" of the card is needed to show the glitter.
In this instance, I wanted the reindeer details to show up clearly, and not be covered up with the sparkly glitter to which we are all accustomed. SO--
I HAVE LEARNED--
The larger the glitter grain, the more likely to get a blurry photo, or have part of the card elements/details covered up by the grains.
Hence, SNS Cloud Nine Velvet Microfine glitter was my choice:

The Pearly Vellum in gold and white lends an unexpected elegance!
Wishing the photos showed it better (sigh):

Tip:

Use tones of the same color that work well together, without clashing.
In this case, it was all about the golds:

The heavier pearlescent circular frame is beautifully crisp - it was made by using the round die that came with the Sue Wilson Mini Christmas Scene Background set, and a Spellbinders Classic Circle that was just a tad larger.

The intricate brad has been heated and dipped into Detail Gold embossing powder.

Non-metallic, true-gold-hue printed in the pretty in the Anna Griffin papers sets the stage for the other golds, not taking away from their textures.

NOTE: to answer Becky's comment question below - the EP will usually not completely melt into the container. The brad gets very hot, so use tweezers, of course. When you dip it, the EP will not completely melt. It mostly sticks to the brad head like glitter on glue. Seldom does it actually melt all the way. Most of the time, I have to use the heat tool on it again to finish the melting process. I hope that helps explain it a little better!

Hope you enjoyed today's ideas. If you did not notice, I have a little gift offering for my followers.Just click on the link under the "tabs" of my blog photo for details.

75 comments:

Beautiful tag(s) card Donna! You have used so many differnt techniques and I love the vellum additions! Thank you for sharing such inspiration.It has been lovely working alongside you on the Dies R Us design team, I have learnt so much from you. Looking forward to hearing your news next month......it sounds exciting!

Donna, I'm going to miss seeing your work on the Dies R Us blog but I will continue following you for all your great tips and cards. Your work is glorious and shows the time you put into each detail. I love the layering of the tags and the dies you used together. So creative. I can't wait to see what good news you have to share. Stay safe in all this terrible weather Florida is having right now.

This is so rich and beautiful. I love all the textures. When you dip the hot brad into the embossing powder, does it not ruin the embossing powder? I've been hesitant to do it because I was afraid I'd melt a bunch and have a mess. Thanks for sharing.

This is just gorgeous, and thank you for all the tips and hints on using glitter and customizing the metal eyelet/brad. Loving the traditional colors and wonderfully detailed die cuts. The layered tags and pearly vellum add a beautiful elegance to your design.

Oh, sweet and dear Donna, what a gorgeous card with so many wonderful elements to gaze upon. I love each aspect of this beautiful card, and I loved all the tips. I've been stamping for a very long time, and I always love to learn. You are such a joy, and while I am sad that this is your last DiesRUs post, I look forward to "visiting" with you whenever you share posts. You are loved and one of the most amazing and talented stampers, and I especially love your heart, which clearly reflects in your artwork! You are the epitome of elegance! Hugs, sweet and dear friend! xoxo

You certainly are going out with a bang then with this beautiful Christmas card. So many lovely details and layers and I love all the awesome colors you used for it. So wonderful and well designed. And, I can't wait to hear what your next news report will reveal. Sounds intriguing and exciting indeed!

Gorgeous Greetings Card Donna. Love your addition to your creation of those gorgeous tags, looks fabulous, love it, nice work and so beautifully illustrated on your blog too.Thank you for sharing with us over here at Classic Design Team Open Challenge and best of luck with your entry.[Annette Registered Owner/Admin for Classic Design Team Challenge]

What a beautiful card for your final DRU post, Donna! One door closes, another one opens. I'm looking forward to your BIG news! I love my microfine glitter and you're so right about how it can't be fully appreciated in a photo. I just yesterday finished a card using lots of microfine glitter and it simply doesn't show well in the photo. You're so good with creating texture and interesting details on your cards. The Main Street tags is a great set and I love it. Never occurred to me to cut the detail in it like this. Genius! Thanks for always inspiring with your fantastic ideas and eye for beauty and detail!

You shared a lot of great tips with us here. We could all be better at sharing, personally I still learn basic tips that will make my crafting life easier. So pls continue sharing. Your design is so rich in detail and gold, but it looks elegant and not messy or over the top. That balance can be hard to find, but you're great at it.

Hi Donna,and here I am admiring your wonderful card, love the pretty papers and read about the golden brad, I allways do this dipping in embossing powder and melt it with the heattool..Enjoy the weekend,hugs,Ans

Wow, this is absolutely gorgeous!! All those layers and the gold make it look so rich! Thanks for the different tips, I may have to try the embossing powder trick on some odd brads I have. Thanks for playing with CHNCC2.

Ooo,DOnna, I'm mad about the stacked tgs on this card. Great tips about the glitter grain sizes and I'll have to remember that. My sparkle never photographs the way I want it to do and now I'm beginning to understand why. :-DSad to see you leaving Dies R Us. I have always enjoyed what you do with your dies. Of course, I know that leaving doesn't mean you'll stop using dies, right? Hugs, my friend.

Love all your pretty layers and die cuts - and the addition of the gold gives this card such an elegant feel! And thank you for your kind comment on my Christmas card at splitcoaststampers!! Beesmom aka Maura

Opulent is certainly the correct word to describe this masterpiece. So many lush layers, and I like the placement of the different mats, with the patterns and colors. The vellum added a touch of light airiness to the DP's, and loved the tone-on-tone of the outline poinsettia. Always enjoy your creative tips, and I think the red Santa circle with the golden rim, looks like the red Chinese pieces one might see in a fancy museum. So good job on that effect. Love the glittered moon...and will have to check out the velvet glitters..I have some of the microfine...not sure if that is the same 'look'. TFS & have a grand week. Hugs

Love this gorgeous Christmas card, Donna. And all your super ideas and hints. Love the tag die too, anything with stitches, I love, must be the former sewer in me!!!! Gorgeous colors and that Santa's Sleigh die is awesome. Just love everything about this one!!

Donna, this is breathtakingly beautiful... Christmas elegance and whimsy, wrapped up into one heartwarming creation. Thank you for the sweet inspiration, my friend. This is stunning. :o) I look forward to hearing your happy news when you can share! Have a lovely day. :o)

WOW! What gorgeous details on this Christmas card Donna! I absolutely love all the different elements. So elegant and work so gracefully beautifully together! You've really brought out the timeless classic beauty of Christmas with the Santa & reindeer image, glitters and die elements Donna. Gorgeous inspiration and final card for your final Die R Us inspiration. Hmmm. I wonder what the news is? I don't think I can wait until October to find out. How about secretly share with me via email? Haahaa. A lovely evening and wonderful weekend ahead to you and your dear DH Donna. Hugs.

Wow, DE, this is elegance at the top of the board. Love the traditional palette and those dies goes on my wish list. Spectular composition and so festive for the holidays. Have a beautiful weekend.HugsBerni

Gorgeous Christmas card Donna! I love all the layers and the beautiful papers you used! Sorry I have been MIA, but we were away on vacation and just got back home yesterday and I am trying to get caught up on my commenting!

Hello Donna-thanks for stopping in today and leaving such a nice comment on my blog! Your card is so pretty and shaming me in to getting started on holiday cards...I have not made any...OH MY! ♥ Sue Kment

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It's always a joy sharing artwork with friends, and learning from other artists. My greatest happiness is listening to people - hearing their hearts, discovering what is important to them, learning from their experiences, and hopefully, sharing a bit of myself in the process that will benefit others in their Journey. I marvel over the grace-filled lovelinesses in each day, and at the Beauty in each and every one of us. More than anything, I pray that my actions reveal my beliefs - and that words are not necessary. Thanks for being part of my life! xx

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Butterflies and Rainbows -- we all love them! But they cannot exist without first experiencing incredible struggles. The Butterfly endures a hardened, sterile period of vulnerabilities, while Rainbows are the exquisitely eye-catching result of uncomfortable, often turbulent storms. Butterflies and Rainbows inspire us to the Wings of anticipated Hope during adversity.